Ate Donna is one of the translators and teachers with us. She has been serving in Bicol since she was 22. Her family is from the northern part of Luzon. Her dad came down to Bicol as a missionary when she was 20 years old. Although Ate Donna herself was not as big of a fan of the move.
“I rebelled against God. I rebelled against my family. I didn’t like the work of the Lord,” she shared—a story some of us may know all too well. Walking away from the faith, being pulled by relationships, weighed down by depression, or seeking comfort in the things of this world.
But the story doesn’t end there.
“Because of my dad’s life,” she said, “I continued his work and was called by the Lord.”
Ate Donna went on to say, “The Lord showed me what my father’s life was like in serving the faith.”
She shared how God called her back to Him:
“One day, my father was sick but still going out to do ministry. I asked him, ‘Why are you going? You’re sick.’
But he told me, ‘This is the Lord’s call to me. You cannot not do it.’
That’s when the Lord spoke to my mind and my heart: ‘Look at your father, willing to follow Me at 71 years old. Where are you using your life?’ Then I had a desire to turn back to the truth.”
Today Donna goes to other bible studies and also helps out at the bible school, teaching some classes and leading the youth.
“Of course I am doing work for the Lord. Every day of my life should always be soaked in prayer—always knowing the will of the Lord each day through the Word. Every step I take is for the Lord, not for me. I really need to depend on what God says in the Bible.”
She has now been working in this area for 14 years and continues to serve the Lord faithfully each day.
- Holland
Bicol Media Team